User:Spedracr/newVEOChomepage

Waze VEOC

The Virtual Emergency Operations Center or VEOC was setup to help areas experiencing a very high volume of closures due to an event. It is designed to complement and enhance a state or region's ability to handle closures. It is designed to allow every editor, no matter their rank or experience, a chance to help those in the affected area(s).

Dedicated team

• A dedicated Discord server is used to communicate effectively. It can be accessed at https://discord.me/wazeveoc-usa
• The team was created to allow greater flexibility of feeds, channels, etc and be independent of any region
  • spedracr (SER) head event coordinate assisted by several other senior editors.
  • crazycaveman (SAT ARC) current owner of closure sheet and form, with assistance from dbsooner (SCR/SER) and spedracr (SER) in maintaining.
  • Other editors knowledgeable of process
    • Driving79 (SER ARC)
    • karlcr9911 (SCR RC)
    • sketch (SCR ARC)
    • willdanneriv (LC SER)
    • Jakflash(SEC LC)
    • itzwolf (SER RC)
    • dBsooner (SCR AM)
    • grsmhiker (SAT MSM)
      

USA Emergency Procedure Resources

For those wishing to activate the VEOC. A few things to think about when starting.

• Depending on the nature of the event you may want to extend the closure end date/time to past the reported end time for the event. For example, with major flooding how will the condition of the road surface be known until the water recedes? For snow/ice is 24/48 hours enough time for the plows and snow/ice treatment to work so roads can be opened? This is a suggestion as it is difficult for the reporting agency to know how long a road will need to be closed when the event is still occurring. It is easier to remove a closure once than to keep extending it several times a day/week. In past events we worked over 1,100 different road closures. This is not to encourage a set and forget it approach. It will be up to the locals to review the sheet and adjust/remove the closures as needed.

• Do you want to allow traffic to auto open a closure or do you want Waze to ignore traffic when inputting a closure?

• Be mindful of your editor's availability when setting end time on closures. Do you really want your closures ending at 8am when most people are still dealing with morning routines? Having them end at 5pm is not any better for the same reason.

• When closing a segment it is helpful to list the between roads in case more closures are needed on the same road name in a different location(s). Saying Main St is closed it not much help if you have three different parts of Main St to close in the same city/county. Saying Main St is closed between 1st St and 5th St as an example lets other verify if anything needs to be done with the other reported closures for Main St.

• We need to close all the segments that are reported by the source agency not just the segment we think needs closing. There might be barricades in place for all the reported segments even though a small portion of the road might be affected. The source agency needs to trust that we are going to close whatever segments they say are closed.

• For road segments flagged as local traffic only closures the suggestion is to keep the segment closed but can be overridden by CM/RC or SM as needed.
• For long term closures due to damage/washout please place a Map Comment over the area with any reference links showing the damage. For the title it is suggested to use the name of the storm - related closure. Example Harvey related closure. Or RCD (Road Closure Damage) then you can use the filter option on UR-MP-Tracking to find them later.

WME tips, short cuts, etc

• To select all segments between two other segments, first select a segment, then use alt+click to select a second segment. The editor will add to the selection group the segments in-between the first and second segments, based mostly on the street name, but also on simple straight lines. Important Be sure to check and make sure the proper segments are selected before making closures or submitting PL for processing of closures.
• Zoom level..."Please make sure that you are zoomed out and centered to a level that shows the segments you are asking for assistance with. As a general guideline, Fwy and MH can't be zoomed out any farther than zoom 2 (2000 ft), mH and PS can't be zoomed out any farther than zoom 3 (1000 ft) and Streets and below can't be zoomed out any farther than zoom 4 (500 ft). If you are unsure, Please test your PL pasting it into a new browser tab/window to make sure proper segments are selected.
• For long term road closures please do a MC explaining why. Also put in the subject line "RCD road washout" or "RCD bridge damage" after RCD (Road Closure Damage) then the filer option on UR-MP-Tracking can be used to find them later.

WME Suggestions

• Do not make any edits to a segment that will force a change of the segment id. If the segment id changes you will need to wait for a tile update before you can add a closure to the segment.
  

• For extremely long sections of segments please provide the beginning and ending segments. The editor doing the closure will fill in the between segments.

• Zoom Levels... When creating a PL for a closure please be sure you are zoomed in to at least Level 4 [100 M | 500 Ft]
• Suggest using MC (Map Comments) for bridges or interchanges that have local names like Spaghetti Junction in Atlanta GA or Theo Barrs Bridge in Pensacola, FL using LRM (Local Reference Marker) will allow a filter to be done using UR-MP script to search the MC for that state. This works even if you do not have edit access in that state as of Jan 2018. Subject to change with UR-MP script updates

Discord Suggestions

• Discord users that are helping with the closures should setup a keyword of closure for being pinged when attention is needed. To add a keyword, use !keyword add keywordhere. You can use multiple words, but note that you will only be messaged if the entire phrase you use is a match. To add multiple separate keywords, you need to use the command multiple times in individual messages. For more information on Discord and keywords see Discord Wazeopedia Keyword Subscriptions
• Here are the emoji's to use for marking closure post in Discord. `:eyes:`  :eyes: Looking for closure/permalink `:closure:`   :closure: Active closure implemented `:newspaper:` :newspaper: Reported needs closed by someone with edit access in the area `:futureclosed:`  :futureclosed: Future Closure programmed `:white_check_mark:`  :white_check_mark: Closure removed or expired `:repeat:`  :repeat: Duplicate post -- already processed `:x:` :x: Not applicable ignore/delete `:question:`  :question: Closure is unclear or not found. Not sure what to do with the post. `:clock3:`  :clock3: Closure time extended. (i.e. 03:00 or 15:00) `:pushpin:`  :pushpin: Closure information saved for later entry. (edited)

WME Script Suggestions

Below are some script suggestions for making the process easier in WME.

Form Filler Script

Below is a Form Filler Script created by crazycaveman. This script is used in WME once the segments are selected to enter the closure information into the tracking sheet. This is the BEST way to enter closure data into the sheet. It saves a lot of time for the people adding them to the sheet. You will need tapermonkey to install.

• Form Filler Script V 1.4.4.4 Last updated 5/01/2019

US County Overlays

The US Government Boundaries script can be used to superimpose county boundaries on the map and place the county name in the upper left corner with the city/state. This is very important to use so that you can verify you are closing the correct road segment in the correct county. Some road names are used in more than one county.

Waze Catastrophic Event Closure Tracking

Below is the google form and google sheet currently being used to track closures in weather related events. The form is for use by anyone and enters the data into the closure sheet. If the form filler script mentioned above is not working please use this for processing closures. The sheet should only be used by those that can do the closures in the affected area for those that cannot and are marking them as needing closed.

• Waze USA Event Closures Entry Form

Below is the google form for instant access to the sheet currently being used to track closures for events. This is done for stat tracking and control of certain areas of the sheet. Only needs to be done once.

• Link for the Authorization Form to sheet below

Below is the google sheet currently being used to track closures for events. This should only be used by the ones managing existing closures or processing the closure request of those that do not have edit access in the area. The form above should be used to enter any new closures onto the sheet.

• Waze USA Event Tracking Sheet

Google sheet tips, short cuts, etc

Only needed for those that are managing the closures on the sheet not for new closures.

• To change the view and only see a certain condition Click on (Data) then (Filter views) then choose the one you want from the choices on the far right. Using the Filter option instead of the Filter Views will affect everyone's view.

DATA FILTER VIEW FOR SPECIFIC STATE (This will not affect the view of others)

• You will need to do the following steps

1. Data->Filter Views -> Closure By State (View)
2. click the gear icon in Data Filter View
3. click Duplicate. This should make a copy of the Data View
4. Change the name of from "Closure By State) to the state(s) you want to see (ie NC Closures) as name<>. This will be in the upper left hand corner above the column letters.
5. Go to cell I3 and click the filter icon.
6. Select the state you want to filter. Deselect others as necessary.
7. This will now create the data filter view for that particular state.

COLUMN C

• This is the Permalink to the closure with the layers stripped out. (Please do not edit anything in this column)

UPDATING TIME CHECKED -

• Updating the time checked in Column H "LAST CHECKED TIME" is as simple as changing the name (Has to be a name change) in Column G "LAST CHECKED BY" or typing something in Column E (ie I usually just type the number 1). It should automatically update to the current time.

SORTING

• Do so sparingly and with a warning to other editors. (Can only be done by sheet admins)

ROW DELETION

• If for some reason an editor deletes out a row. Please click on the words ROW DELETION to re-execute the DUP SCRIPT. It is located at the top of Column P

COLUMN F "Type" *Highlighted requires action by someone with EA for the closure.*

Type	Usage
zOPEN	Open in Waze
CLOSED	Closed in Waze
NEEDS OPENED	Needs to be validated and open or extended as needed
REPORTED	Needs to be closed in Waze by editor with access to location
UNLISTED	No longer found on source location. Needs closure removed and marked as open
DUPLICATE	Segment ID(s) found in other closure Permalink(s)
EXTEND/SHORTEN	Closure still in effect just needs date/time adjusted to match new information.
NEEDS OPEN NOT LISTED	Closure in WME but not listed on closure sheet.
FUTURE/PLANNED/ENTERED	Closed in future in WME, used for Contraflow.

• If a line has expired and is reopened in real life please change to zOPEN in column F

COLUMNS A-D

• Are not editable as they are derived data. If the closure date/time needs extended please edit the date/time in Column E

Change Log for Road Closures Sheet (Post-Harvey)

• Sort order changed, now---- State, Current waze Status, County/Parish/Municipality, then Closure Ending Date/time, moved zOPEN to bottom of sheet below everything else listed above.
• Changed OPEN to zOPEN so opens now show up at the bottom of each state since we need to see them less.
• Added NEEDS OPEN NOT LISTED to form and sheet to support closures in WME not on sheet that need to be opened.
• Flipped LAST CHECKED BY and LAST CHECKED TIME for better flow.  Now one tab over from status is id instead of date/time then ID.
• Changed TIME NEEDS UPDATED to EXTEND/SHORTEN
• Move old "TIME NEEDS UPDATED" now EXTEND/SHORTEN to be beside NEEDS OPENED for counts
• Updated Form with "NEEDS OPEN NOT LISTED" as a drop down choice for status
• The script that checks for duplicates has not been updated thanks to dbsooner and justins83. We now check to see if the new row entered is a duplicate of others. We also can do a check every row against every other row on the sheet check as needed.
• A lot of behind the scenes script updates by dbsooner to make Expired, Expiring, Duplcate check work better and faster.
• A real time Stats tab that keeps up with some data. More will be coming out later.
• If you receive a warning message about cells being protected please do NOT make the change. Ask in the Waze VEOC spreadsheet-issues channel. Someone will review and make changes as needed.

WazeCon Level

Used to show how severe the impact is or is expected to be for the current event.

WazeCon LEVEL	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	RESOURCES, ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
5	Catastrophe	Thousands of road closures required across a large geographic region requiring significant resources from across the nation to manage effectively.	Active emergency response in lieu of routine editing and operations by most AM, SM, RC, CM and editors native to the affected areas, as available. Local editor and leadership pool may be incapacitated. Mutual Aid assistance from numerous CM, Champs, and other volunteers from beyond the affected region required. Same roles and responsibilities as below, just more extensive.
4	Major Disaster	Hundreds of road closures required across a geographic area requiring dedicated local and regional resources and possibly some limited outside help.	Active emergency response in lieu of routine editing and operations by most AM, SM, RC, CM and able editors native to the affected areas. Mutual Aid assistance from a handful of select SM, RC, CM, Champs, and other volunteers from beyond the affected region. Same roles and responsibilities as below, just more extensive.
3	Minor Emergency or Special Event	Dozens of road closures required confined to a localized geographic area requiring limited dedicated local resources.	Active emergency response in lieu of routine editing and normal operations by most AM, SM, RC, CM and able editors native to the affected areas. Coordination with federal, state, local and NGO emergency response agencies. Same roles and responsibilities as below, just more extensive.
2	Enhanced Monitoring	Enhanced monitoring of a significant threat or special event requiring increased activity by a handful of dedicated local resources or multiple multi-tasking local resources.	Increased monitoring efforts by select AM, SM, RC, CM and willing editors native to the affected area. Monitor LiveMap for user reports; DOT, 511 & highway patrol websites; county / city law enforcement, emergency management, and government websites and social media channels; media reports. Coordination via Waze USA VEOC. Coordination with National Weather Service via NWSChat (authorized reps). Use of standing Emergency Response closure sheet and form for tracking.
1	Routine Operations	Normal operations using normal local resources.	Standard local editor pool with routine AM, SM, RC, CM roles and responsibilities. Use of routine resources such as regional Discord channels, GHO or forums.